I learned of this program on Friday when visiting a public library with my kids.
“Reading is Fundamental (RIF) is a federally-funded national program that prepares and motivates children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to children and families who need them most.” http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/rif/

Any child (ages 0-18) that has a library card is eligible for the program.
How does it work “When you register for RIF, you will receive a free book. Whenever a library is offering a RIF program, stop by the RIF desk with your library card and two library books you are about to borrow or return. After reading and returning six books, you can choose a free gift RIF book.”

Check your local library for your RIF days, in New Utrecht 1743 86th St. at Bay 17th St. Friday is RIF day. Enjoy your reading.

Hello, Friends and Colleagues!

As many of you know, the Foundation for Jewish Camp with the generous support of the Genesis Philanthropy Group is launching a nation-wide initiative that will create opportunities for children and teenagers from Russian-speaking families to have a transformative experience at Jewish overnight camps across the United States and Canada . In order to create the best possible programs that would respond to the unique interests of the community, we would like to learn as much as we can about Russian-speaking families and their perspectives on camp, informal education and Jewish identity, as well as their specific needs.

Please help us distribute this quick online survey to as many Russian-speaking parents as possible and encourage them to respond, making their opinions really influence the programs at hundreds of Jewish camps in North America. Below please find a short message and the link to the survey.

We value your opinion and need your help in creating the most interesting and meaningful camp programs for your children! We would like you to share your unique perspective by filing out this quick online survey – upon completing the survey you can enter a raffle for a $250 gift certificate!  We also would love to hear from your friends, so please pass this on to other Russian-speaking parents (the top 5 people with most referrals get $100!!!)– the more voices we hear, the better we understand the specific needs and interests of our community. 

Looking forward to learning what you think! Please click here to fill out the survey http://deploy.ztelligence.com/start/index.jsp?PIN=15TTHGL5QXVB6

Alina Bitel, Program Director, Genesis Camp Initiative
Foundation for Jewish Camp
t 646-278-4533 f 646-278-4501 www.jewishcamp.org

Today I finally had enough. My son was supposed to do his homework, which usually takes him 15 minutes, but today it was taking forever. Hours rolled by as he slowly wrote and rewrote every number, over thinking every step. But what made me so angry was that my son knows the material but just didn’t feel like doing it; he was taking his time just to irritate me. I tried everything to convince him: threatening, bribing, taking away privileges, even yelling, but nothing seemed to work. He finally finished his 15 minute homework in 2.5 hours.

After I put him down for the night I decided to do some research. This was not the first episode of laziness that we’ve had, and in the past these episodes did not only pertain to homework. What I was trying to figure out through my research is where this laziness is coming from and how to fight it. I came across an interesting article, which, although originally published in 1916, totally applied to my current situation.

The article suggests that children need to understand what is “in it” for them.  “It is the children who have been driven to do the unpleasant things that have no meaning for them who resort to ‘laziness’ as the only escape from the disagreeable tasks.” After reading this, things began to look a lot clearer to me: I need to stop giving my son things when he asks for them and instead make him earn the things he wants.

The article concluded with an interesting thought: “Finally, there are a few children who naturally take to the contemplative life—they are dreamers, poets, philosophers. They have their uses even if they do not do ‘useful work.’” As much as I found the idea that my son might fall into this category and become the world’s next great philosopher reassuring, I don’t really want to test this theory to find out that it may not be true. So instead, I will try to act now and make my son’s homework more rewarding; we’ll see where that gets us.

http://www.oldandsold.com/articles08/children-21.shtml

My son loves wearing sneakers. It is the easiest thing for him to wear and looks like the most comfortable for him. I always purchased sneakers for him with Velcro so that it will make his life easier and i guess easier for me. I now realized this will not always be the case and I have to teach him to tie his shoe laces. I can tell you now its not a very easy task. We have been working on it for two days and progress is very limited. I decided to post here how to teach your child to tie his shoe laces incase anyone else was having the same issue.

  http://kidsfashion.about.com/od/doityourselfstyles/tp/kidstieshoes.htm

I just came across this today and will try it on him when he gets home from camp. I will keep you updated on this milestone

I had to share an excellent resource provided by our sons kindergarten teacher. She created a sort list of helpful hints to help prepare kids for the first grade

• Practice reading, especially short vowel words, number, and color words
• Practice writing on regular lined paper
• Start writing letters and numbers from top to bottom
• Practice writing numbers from 0-20 or higher (go up to 1000)
• Practice telling time to the hour and half hour
• Practice adding and subtracting with cons – start with pennies, nickels and dimes (1c+1c=2c, 5c+1c=6c, 10c+2c=12c, 10c-5c=5c, 5c-3c=2c)
• Keep a journal over the summer. Begin with the date, write a sentence or more sentences and illustrate it. This may be done once a day or a 4x’s a week. This can be used to record special events or happenings your child partakes in over the vacation

Our sons kindergarten teacher gave parents a list of excellent ideas on helping children make summer a fun and educational experience. I’ve decided to share the list with others.

How parents can help:

1. Listen to your child read
2. Read to your child
3. Go to the library with your child and help him/her pick out interesting books to read
4. Find out about activities for children that take place at the library
5. Look through your child’s schoolwork with him/her
6. Read the comic section of the newspaper with your child
7. Help your child select televisions shows to watch
8. Watch a television show together, then discuss/evaluate the show
9. Teach your child how to make an emergency phone call
10. Help your child learn to use telephone directory
11. Show your child the location of your home on a map
12. Play a board game with your child
13. Help your child start a collection of rocks, stamps, pressed leaves…
14. Give your child his own calendar so he can write down special events
15. Write notes to your child
16. Help your child write notes to relatives and friends
17. Subscribe to a children’s magazine (in your child’s name)
18. Help your child cook something
19. Provide materials such as crayons, art paper and paints for creative projects
20. Look up a word in the dictionary with your child
21. Read road signs, store signs, package labels, and license plates.
22. Show your child how to use a ruler, yardstick, and a tape measure for measuring objects around the house
23. Provide counting experiences for your child
24. Encourage your child to keep a scrapbook
25. Encourage your child to wear a watch (not a digital)
26. Let your child see you reading so that you provide a model for him/her to follow
27. Encourage your child to read books more than once. It will give him/her confidence and help him/her to gain new insight
28. Establish a fifteen minute “Family Reading Time.” Eliminate distractions but make it a fun experience
29. Take books along in the car to read while waiting for appointments
30. Give books as presents so they become special and pleasurable
31. Make puppets, draw maps, make bookmarks, and act out stories to celebrate books
32. Establish a “school box” at home to help your child be more organized. Help your child get into the habit of putting all materials that must be taken to school in the box. This system will help you avoid last minute searches for lunch money, books, and permission slips. Helping your child assume responsibility is an excellent way to foster independence.
33. Don’t forget to Read, Read, and Read all summer long!